The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat-Chapter 28: Assassin

Li Ji ordered Chen Wangbei, who was standing at attention nearby.

"Drag these two women out and have them beaten to death."

At his words, the color drained from the two women’s faces.

They scrambled to beg for their lives. "My lord, have mercy!"

Chen Wangbei ordered two of his trusted aides to step forward and seize them.

Seeing that their fate was sealed, the two young women steeled themselves. They whipped out sharp daggers hidden in their sleeves and lunged desperately at Li Ji.

’If we’re going to die anyway, we might as well risk it all in one last attempt!’

Even if they couldn’t kill Prince Zhao, just injuring him and escalating the situation would mean they had completed the mission their master had given them.

But Li Ji was long prepared.

The moment they moved, he triggered a mechanism on his wheelchair.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Two crossbow bolts shot out from either side of the wheelchair, piercing straight through the young women’s chests.

Their eyes widened in disbelief as they looked down at the wounds, from which blood poured relentlessly.

An instant later, they staggered and collapsed into pools of their own blood.

Li Ji said coldly, "Throw their bodies to the dogs. To the public, say they were caught stealing from the Prince Mansion and were beaten to death as punishment."

Chen Wangbei replied, "Yes, my lord!"

The trusted aides carried the two bodies away, and servants quickly scrubbed the bloodstains from the floor.

Neither Chen Wangbei, Gao Shan, nor any of the other maids and servants in the Prince Mansion said a single word about what had happened.

They all remained perfectly silent and obedient.

It was as though two living people hadn’t just been killed, but merely two insignificant ants.

Only the four maids Hua Manman had brought with her from the Uncle’s Mansion were terrified by the sudden turn of events.

They had never witnessed such a scene. Their faces were ashen, and their limbs had gone cold with fright.

They had heard many rumors about Prince Zhao, but they had always dismissed them as mere gossip. They never imagined the rumors were true—that this Prince was truly mercurial, a man who killed without blinking an eye.

Now, they didn’t even have the courage to look at Prince Zhao. Their hearts were filled with nothing but endless terror.

Seeing their state, Hua Manman made an excuse and sent them all away.

The four maids scrambled out in a panic, as if they had been granted a royal pardon.

The others in the room also took their leave.

Soon, only Hua Manman and Li Ji remained.

Hua Manman hesitated for a moment, but unable to contain her curiosity, she asked cautiously.

"My lord, how did you know they were assassins?"

Li Ji leaned back, his body relaxing as he replied lazily, "Guess."

Hua Manman said, "Was it because they revealed a flaw? I didn’t see anything wrong with them."

Li Ji replied, "That’s because you’re blind."

Hua Manman: "..."

Her expression soured, but inwardly she scoffed.

’Right. If I weren’t blind, why would I have married a bastard like you?!’

Li Ji’s eyes narrowed, his gaze turning dangerous. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Hua Manman found his expression suddenly unnerving and quickly changed the subject.

"Since you knew they were assassins, my lord, why not keep them alive for interrogation? You might have been able to find out who was behind it."

Li Ji gave an enigmatic smile. "You could tell by their movements they were professionally trained. Even if we captured them alive, they wouldn’t have talked. They’d more likely seize the chance to make wild accusations and muddy the waters."

There was something else he didn’t say.

The Emperor had sent him these two women.

Regardless of who had sent them, if their identities as assassins were exposed, the Emperor would inevitably be implicated.

The mastermind appeared to be targeting him, but their true target was the Emperor himself.